Manchester United, Arsenal and Roma, under renowned Portuguese manager José Mourinho, will start the Europa League as a natural title contender, qualifying the holder to play in the Champions League group stage next season.

Teams in this competition have a tight schedule as they must complete the group stage on November 3rd, 17 days before the start of the World Cup in Qatar on the 20th. This means that the three candidate teams will be dependent on the depth of their build-up, while still fighting for top positions in the English and Italian leagues.

The final match of the Europa League will take place at the Puskas Arena in Budapest, Hungary on May 31, 2023.

Eintracht Frankfurt, Germany won the title last season by beating Rangers of Scotland on penalties in Seville, Spain after beating Barcelona en route to the final.

Notably, the winning teams of the last four seasons started their careers in the Europa League and did not enter the competition, finishing third in the Champions League group stage. As for the last title-winning club to end their continental Europa League campaign by exiting the Champions League, it was Atlético Madrid in 2018.

– easy set –

The Dutch national team, new Manchester United manager Eric Ten Hag, is not expected to have any difficulty in turning down the role because the draw placed Manchester United in a group within reach of Spain’s Real Sociedad, Moldavian “Sheriff Tiraspol”. and Cypriot Omonia Nicosia.

The Red Devils will start their journey to Old Trafford on Thursday hosting Real Sociedad, which includes 36-year-old Manchester City veteran David Silva, as the Basque team lost to the efforts of Swedish international striker Alexander Isaac. who filled the ranks. from Newcastle.

Ten Hag is expected to make major changes to the squad that played the last leg of the local league win against Arsenal, resting some players, most notably Argentine defender Lisandro Martínez and Dutch left-back Tiril Malasia, as well as the likely involvement of the Brazilian midfielder Casemiro and Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo is key.

Manchester United were champions of the Europa League in 2017 led by Mourinho before losing in the 2021 season final to Villarreal on penalties.

As for Arsenal, who got off to a good start in the English Premier League, winning their first five matches before suffering their first loss to Manchester United last Sunday, they are playing in a group that includes Dutch side Eindhoven, Norwegian ” Bodo/Glimt” and the Swiss “Zurich”.

In turn, Arsenal reached the final of this competition in 2019 and lost to their neighbor Chelsea.

On the other hand, Mourinho is looking to lead Roma to a second consecutive continental title after winning the Conference League in its first season last season, beating Feyenoord Rotterdam 1-0 in the final.

The most notable rival of the Italian capital team in the group is Real Betis, led by his Chilean coach Manuel Pellegrini, as well as the Bulgarian Ludogorets and the Finnish HJK Helsinki.

It is noteworthy that the last 11 draws were won by clubs from Spain, England and Germany.

– Conference League –

On the other hand, Villarreal, who reached the semi-finals of the Champions League last season, will be a strong candidate to win the Conference League and, to a lesser extent, West Ham.